Infrastructure Development and Public-Private Partnership - The Case of the Philippines

This is the first book that analyzes public-private partnership (PPP) infrastructure development in developing countries by focusing on recent developments in the Philippines.
Infrastructure is extremely important for economic development and poverty reduction. However, given the infrastructure gap and pressures on public expenditure, there is a growing expectation that PPP will fill this gap globally. Over the years, PPP as a mechanism for financing and procuring infrastructure has been the basis of an active and provocative debate in the Philippines, which is known to have inadequate infrastructure-twice in the 2010s, when a significant policy shift on the financing source of public infrastructure was announced by the Philippine government. Drastic policy changes concerning the roles of public finance and PPP in infrastructure development within this decade are not seen in other developing countries.
There is no precedent for substantial study on the changes of infrastructure governance in the Philippines, but this book assesses policy changes in infrastructure development in the country and, as academic contributions, identifies several factors behind the changes related to infrastructure governance there, especially the drastic shifts during the Aquino III and Duterte administrations. Furthermore, the findings presented in the book, including the desirable role of public finance and PPP in developing infrastructure in developing countries, could improve infrastructure governance, such as choice of the financing mode, design, and implementation of the PPP project, in other developing countries as an operable contribution to policymakers of government and to industry and management practitioners.

Dr. Susumu Ito is currently Dean and Professor of International Development at the Graduate School of International Studies and Regional Development, University of Niigata Prefecture, Japan. He has lectured at various institutions both in Japan and abroad and is also a Visiting Professor at University of the Philippines. He is a recipient of award from the Secretary of Socioeconomic Planning of the Philippines. Dr Ito is author of numerous publications on infrastructure development and Public Private Partnership (PPP) in developing countries.

Prior to the current position, Dr. Ito was at the helm of Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and Japan Bank for International Cooperation (JBIC), both are international development agency of Government of Japan, in the ASEAN region with a particular focus on infrastructure and PPP. He also served in key executive positions related to finance management and development under the Overseas Economic Cooperation Fund of Japan (OECF) including Resident Representative in Nairobi and Washington DC. Dr. Ito was formerly assigned in the Philippines as Chief Representative and Senior Representative of JICA.

Dr. Ito holds Ph.D. in International Development from Takushoku University, Japan and M.Sc. in Development Economics from University of Oxford.